Editorial February 26, 1938 Issue

Speaking the Word Faithfully

Violet Ker Seymer

IT is related in John's Gospel that when the chief priests and Pharisees asked certain officers why they had not brought Jesus before them, they replied, "Never man spake like this man." Mrs. Eddy writes (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 193), "His words are unmistakable, for they form propositions of self-evident demonstrable truth." Who has ever expressed so much beauty of speech as did Christ Jesus? The purity, power, and peace of his innermost thinking found expression in his immortal utterances. He himself said, "The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself." The divine Mind, God, spoke through His faithful Son and is equally present to speak through all who are spiritually awake enough to hear and to heed the demands of divine Principle, conveyed in Christian Science.

The quality of speech is determined by the tenor of thought which prompts it, the character behind it, the motive it conveys. Angry, fearful, willful words are messengers of mortal mind. Too often they wound speaker and hearer alike. Sad words spoken and listened to inevitably becloud spiritual joy. Flippant speech often gives a wrong impression. And merely glib utterances of truth do not carry conviction or comfort. Hence the general warning, "Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile." Before giving vent to impulsive words it might be well to ask oneself, Should I like these words to be addressed to me?

As Christian Scientists, we appreciate the healing power of true utterances and realize the necessity for guarding ourselves against either careless or grave misuse of speech. We try to realize on all occasions that "he sent his word, and healed them." Christian Science teaches that one should refer to evil only for the purpose of denying its claim to power, presence, and influence. Also, that one should affirm Truth, not dogmatically or theoretically, but sincerely, helpfully, redemptively. In the scientific denial of evil there is healing, even as there is healing in true affirmations, provided the speaker's consciousness is permeated with the spirit of Truth which his words express.

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